Where resourceful people abound
THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited the Upper Corentyne, Corriverton, Berbice village of #77 Princetown. This village extends from the foreshore to the vast backlands where large-scale farming is done.
Princetown is a farming community that has an Old Housing Scheme and a newer housing section and is bordered by #75 Scotsburg and #76 Duketown villages. The village is fairly large and apart from the main public road, there are several internal streets.
Princetown has a community centre ground with a racket stand and a nursery school at the centre of the community. Secondary schools, primary schools and health centres are located in nearby villages, as well as markets and other government facilities.
The population is about 2,500 Guyanese of mixed ethnicities mostly of Indo and Afro descent and from the looks of things they live and dwell among each other in relative peace and quiet. Princetown Village has many small shops, poultry, livestock and cattle farms and many cash crops of traditional and non-traditional cultivations as well as skilled people, who leave the village for work daily.
Princetown comes under the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Corriverton which starts from the arch, that is, #75 Village to Section 83 Village (Blackwater) villages. The village has a defunct Community Policing Group and residents have complained that there are thieves who prowl at nights and break into homes, shops and take away valuables in the community.
At the front of Princetown, there is a village called Duketown and the village of Eliza and Mary (Little Africa) can also be accessed at the rear. At the roadside, there is Scotsburg Village, a small community with rather large dwelling houses that sits just by the foreshore.
Princetown Village has some professionals, who are nurses, teachers, office staffers among others, who venture out of the village for work. The people of Princetown Village depended heavily on the sugar industry for a living and when it was closed, they had to seek other jobs; as such, many went into small and micro businesses and became entrepreneurs.
They started food businesses, vegetable and fruit stalls, small grocery shops, coconut stands along the roadways and others.
The village entrepreneur
The Pepperpot Magazine met one such person, Vivekanand Narine, a father of five, who used to work at Skeldon Sugar Estate as a cane cutter. The 61-year-old told the team that he grew up in the village and when he was out of a job he had to start doing something to earn, so he decided to open a small shop at his residence at Old Road, Princetown.
He reported that his options were limited since he has small, school-age children and he had to come up with a plan quickly. Today, his small grocery shop has every little thing which includes clothing, haberdasheries, groceries, cold beverages, kite frames, kites and other things.
“The people in the village support my small business and I am thankful that I can live and work right from home and without the support of customers I would not be able to sustain this business to earn,” he said. Narine added that for Easter, a customer came to his shop and asked him to sell some kite frames and kites and he readily agreed, because he has to lend support to his fellow villagers too.
Even though things are a bit slow on the economic side of things, the business is staying afloat because he understands the needs of the people and is keeping his prices at the lowest possible levels. Narine reported that the older residents of the village have since passed away and a lot of young people reside in the village, but some have become idle and are abusing drugs and when they do, they engage in some unsavoury activities within the community.
“Some of these youths are not interested in pursuing careers and they come in at nights, pick up your things and leave,” he disclosed. Apart from this issue Princetown Village is a good place to live and despite some challenges, life is still good once you can work, says Narine.
The people and the village (Carl Croker photos)
